Shattered Heart
by LisaMVause
Summary: (AU Fic.) Alex Vause is a highly sought after and successful dentist living with her mother in her beautiful house. Tragic circumstances throw her life into turmoil. Will anyone be able to save her? (Vauseman endgame) Rated M because you never know.
1. Devastation

**Hey guys, I'm having a bit of a writers block with "Beautiful Darkness" Uni work has been taking up my time but I've just finished exams, so to celebrate, I'm starting another fic. I've had it in my head for a while. What better time to put it out there ;) Hope you guys enjoy. As always, Please leave reviews, it motivates me! This is going to be a rather sad story but it will have a happy ending. Vauseman endgame ;)**

Shattered

Alex Vause never had much. Her Mom was her best friend, her confidant and the only one she could turn to when things got tough. It's said that all good things must come to an end.

Winter was beginning and it was a very cold evening. Alex had just finished work and was walking home, her breath visible in the night air. She pulled out her phone. "Hey Mom, its just me, I'm walking home now, should I stop by the Thai and get us some dinner? I know, Mom, I know its dark, I'll be fine. I won't be out too long, don't worry. See you soon, love you."

Diane could never afford much when Alex was growing up. She did her best, nevertheless and Alex was always fed. She didn't ever have designer clothes or the latest toys and gadgets but she always had food. Alex had turned to books from a young age, they were a cheap way to be entertained and she loved the stories and characters they held in their pages. Alex never had many friends, she preferred the company of her mom and her books. She never felt like she could be herself around people at school and she always felt like she had to explain or justify her mom's financial situation every time someone knew where they lived.

Diane worked two jobs to make ends meet so what little time Alex got to spend with Diane, when she was younger, she cherished. As she got older she always felt the need to return the favour and protect and look after her. The summer Alex was offered the scholarship for university, Diane had been made redundant from one of her jobs and Alex was slightly relieved to be moving a few hours away to student accommodation so that her mom wouldn't have the burden of another mouth to feed. Alex was studying to become a dentist, she figured as long as people's mouths were pried open, she didn't have to engage in unnecessary conversation with them. She had always done well academically, she wanted to do well so that Diane wouldn't have to worry about money anymore. As she graduated, Diane sat in the crowd with tears streaming down her face. She had never been so proud in her life. Her Alex, a dentist.

Flash forward 3 years, Alex had worked her way up in the dentistry profession and was now in demand working in a high end dental hospital. She had bought her and Diane a house overlooking a lake and as much as Diane had protested, Alex had made her quit her jobs and refused to let her pay rent. She had told Diane it was her turn to be looked after. She could just cook and clean if it made her feel useful but she didn't have to, she could use her time as she pleased. She was just pleased that Diane was able to have enough free time to do what she wanted. Alex had never had to hide her sexuality from Diane. Diane had known that Alex wasn't interested in boys from an early age. By the time she was a teenager it had become apparent that Alex had no interest in boys. Alex was attractive. Her raven hair hung down past her shoulders, her high arch brows had girls falling for them every time they were raised and she was tall and athletically built. She'd had a steady stream of girls all through uni. She never introduced any of them to Diane, they were more like fuck buddies for her than girlfriends. She never let herself become emotionally attached. When Diane and Alex had moved into the house she made sure to never take girls back there. It was always a quicky in the bathroom of a club. Something to ease the pressure after a long day at work. Alex was content with this. She liked it being just her and her mom.

Alex got home at 8pm, Diane was sitting on the couch watching TV on the flat screen when she walked in. She turned and smiled when she saw Alex.

"Hey honey, how was your day at work?"

"Oh, you know, Ok, some kid tried to bite me but I managed to move in time… his mom wasn't impressed, she slapped his leg and made him jump and he knocked the mouthwash all over my uniform. I have smelled minty all day."

By this point Diane was doubled over laughing. Tears rolling down her face.

"Al… Oh… my… god…" she managed to get out in between bouts of hysterical laughter.

"Ok, Mom, when you have finished laughing at me, the food is out. Come eat." Alex said laughing along with her mother.

They laughed and joked until the last bite of food had gone and then Alex was spent so she said goodnight and went to take a shower.

The majority of time spent in the Vause household was just Alex making Diane laugh. It was one of her favourite pass times. Occasionally Nicky, one of Alex's oldest friends would come to stay for a few weeks. She was a crazy haired woman, also in her early 20's like Alex. They had struck up a friendship when Alex had started her first job waiting tables. They were and unlikely pair but they got along so well and fed off each other's energies. Nicky had a job selling antique furniture pieces to people with "more money than sense" according to her. She was due to visit the following week and Alex couldn't wait for the break from work. To party and live it up a little.

The day finally came for Nicky to arrive and Alex waited patiently, checking the clock every few hours.

"HEYYY STRETCH, GET OUT HERE AND GIVE YOUR SECOND FAVOURITE FEMALE A WELCOMING."

She heard Nicky before she saw her. The car appeared with Nicky leaning half out the window, shouting as it pulled up the driveway. Alex ran out the front door and pulled her into a huge hug.

"Nicholls, man, I've missed you."

"Sure ya did, I'm very missable."

As she said so, a young woman appeared from the passenger seat. She had pale skin, brown hair and bright red lipstick on.

"Hey, I hope you don't mind but I brought someone to meet you and Momma Vause. They say there's a first time for everything. Well, this is Lorna. My girlfriend."

Alex's eyes widened but she tried not to show her shock for respect out of the other girl. Nicky didn't do "girlfriends" she said she didn't know the rules and was never any good at it.

"It's very nice to meet you, Lorna. Come on in, I'll show you where the spare room is, you can set yours and Nicky's stuff down and make yourself at home."

"Oh, thanks Alex, it's nice to meet you too. My brother, Christopher would be very taken with you."

Alex let out a loud laugh at the same time Nicky almost choked. "I forgot to tell you, Alex is of our nature, Lorna." Nicky said, still chuckling.

Lorna just smiled and walked into the house with her bags.

"Jesus, Nicky. You could have pre warned me, I think the shock on my face was pretty evident that you hadn't. You with a girlfriend? Where's Nicky? What have you done with her?" Alex laughed.

"I don't know, Vause, she's different y'know. I can actually see a future with her. I think I've finally found someone I can tolerate for more than a few days."

"Well, I'm happy for you. Let's go see my mom before she kicks our asses."

Just as Alex said that Diane had come bustling out the door.

"NICKY! MY SWEET GIRL, I'VE MISSED YOU, HONEY. COME GIVE MOMMA A HUG." She said pulling Nicky into a tight hug. Nicky gave Alex the thumbs up behind Diane's back.

"We are hitting up that club in town tonight, Stretch, you in?" Nicky questioned Alex.

"Yep, got the week off just to get wasted."

"And here's me thinking you took time off to spend the week with me.." Nicky joked.

"Yeah, the week, wasted, with you."

The girls emerged from their rooms at 7pm like a bunch of teenagers. Diane had just sat down to her dinner. The girls had refused to have any, the excitement of their imminent night out too much for them.

For the first time what felt like ages, Alex felt good about her appearance. She was out of her work uniform (which was a miracle, since she practically lived in it these days)

"Mom, We won't be back too late, but don't wait up!" Alex smirked at Diane.

Diane let out a hearty chuckle. "Have a good night girls, don't do anything I wouldn't!"

Nicky and Lorna clamoured into the waiting cab but Diane pulled Alex aside.

"Babe, you look gorgeous. I'm so proud of you, Alex. Wherever life takes you I just want you to be happy and I guess I want a grandchild or two so I think its about time you got out there and found the girl you are meant to be with, honey." Diane giggled at Alex who, of course knew her mother's humour by now. She laughed back at Diane.

"Mom, I think you need a bath or something because you need to relax."

"You know I'm only joking with you, honey. You go and have a good time. I meant what I said about being proud of you. I'm proud of the amazing woman you have grown into and the life you have given us. I love you Allie. Go and have a good night, I will leave you some dinner in the fridge."

Alex kissed Diane and gave her a tight hug before smiling and climbing into the cab with her friends.

"Bye Mom, I love you too."

The club was jumping with people. The strobe lights made everything seem like it was in slow motion and the girls didn't hesitate to get the drinks flowing.

Alex figured she had worked so hard for so long that she deserved to kick back and let go, just for one night.

Nicky, Lorna and Alex were all dancing to the music, hair flying everywhere. Everyone was packed onto the dancefloor and it didn't take long before Alex got too hot and decided to order a drink at the bar to catch some breath. She ordered a rum and coke and then pulled out her phone. She had two missed calls from Diane and immediately called back. There was no answer, so in full on panic mode, Alex began to search out Nicky and Lorna. She spotted them in the middle of the dancefloor, grinding up against each other.

"Nicholls, we have to go. Mom called and I can't get back in touch with her now. We have to leave."

Nicky could see the panic in Alex's eyes. She knew it was out of character for Diane to be out of contact so she immediately left the dancefloor, pulling Lorna along with her as she followed after a sweaty, half running Alex.

"Mom?" Alex called as she got to the door of the house.

Nicky stopped Alex in her tracks. "She may have just popped out, Allie. To the 24 hour mart to get some milk or something, try to calm down. I'll go and look in her room and you put the kettle on."

Nicky left a reluctant Alex and a concerned Lorna in the kitchen while she padded cautiously up the hallway to Diane's bedroom. She felt the apprehension rush through her as she approached the door. She could feel that something was wrong. She knew Diane didn't just fall off the radar.

"Diane? Mom? You in there?" She knocked softly on the door before going in and what she saw stopped her own heart momentarily.

Diane had her pyjamas on, she was laid on the bed with her phone in her hand looking like she was asleep. Nicky approached her and laid a hand on her shoulder, and gently shook her.

"Diane?" Nicky immediately checked her pulse and when there was none, ran to the ensuite to throw up. She quickly tried to compose herself but was finding it hard to keep it together. Tears had already started to stream down her face and she was starting to hyperventilate when she remembered she had left Alex and Lorna in the kitchen. She wiped her eyes and wondered what she was going to do. She knew Alex wasn't going to cope with this and didn't know how she was supposed to tell her this. She pulled out her phone and called the emergency services so at least someone was aware of what had happened and they said they were on their way out to the house. She then made her way into the kitchen, trying her best to stay calm.

Alex and Lorna both looked up from their cups of tea when she walked in and she could see from Alex's expression that she could tell something is wrong.

"Nick? Where's my Mom? Why do you look like that?"

The pure panic was evident in Alex's voice as she questioned her best friend.

"Al. Please keep calm. I don't know how to tell you this…"

Before she had finished her sentence, Alex was up off her chair and speeding towards Diane's bedroom with Nicky hot on her heels.

Nicky knew she had seen Diane before she had gotten back to the room herself, because of the blood curdling scream that echoed from the walls. She rounded the corner to see Diane cradled in Alex's arms, Alex frantically trying to wake her up. The scene was heart breaking and Nicky was close to losing it. She felt Lorna's hand on her shoulder and the sentiment kept her grounded a little more than she would have been had she been without it.

Alex was barely coherent by the time the paramedics and police arrived. Her eyes had completely glazed over and she had no reaction other than tears streaming continuously down her face. She didn't flinch or react to anything anyone was saying to her and Nicky was starting to get seriously concerned for her friend. She cautiously approached Alex and placed a hand gently over her own, which was gripping Diane's cold hand tightly.

"Al, they have to take her now, you have to let her go. Come on, we need to let them do their jobs."

Alex didn't move, only shrugged Nicky off when she gently tugged on her. The policeman was very empathetic but advised Nicky she could try and talk her around into letting Diane go for another ten minutes and then they would have to physically restrain her whilst they let the paramedics do their job.

"Al, come on, please, you have to let her go. They are going to take her to the hospital and we can go with them, but they have to move her. You have to do this Al, I'm sorry."

Alex didn't move, she just slowly shook her head, her face crumpling into a mask of grief.

The police man stepped towards her. "Miss Vause? I'm officer Bennett, my partner and I have a duty of care and we have to take your mother into the hospital now, I know you are in shock right now but we just need you to let us move her so we can get her body into the ambulance."

He gently lifted her arm and she pulled it forcefully away from her. He nodded to his co worker who stepped to help and they both put their hands on Alex.

"GET THE FUCK OFF ME. SHE BELONGS HERE! YOU AREN'T TAKING HER! I WON'T LET YOU. SHE FUCKING HATES HOSPITALS. YOU AREN'T TAKING HER!" Alex was in hysterics and Nicky had never seen her in such a state.

The two police officers restrained a screaming, sobbing Alex as the paramedics carried Diane's lifeless body out of the house and into the waiting ambulance. Nicky and Lorna were both crying at the scene unfolding before them and Nicky pulled Lorna into an embrace, hiding her face in the crook of her neck and letting herself sob for the woman who had been more of a mother to her than her own mother had been and her heartbroken friend who she knew was not ever going to fully recover from the night's events.


	2. Heartbreak down the drain

It had been two days since Diane had passed away. The doctor had prescribed Alex sedatives to help her relax and Nicky couldn't get her out of bed. She was refusing to eat, as much as Lorna tried to make her decent meals, they always remained untouched.

"Alex?" Nicky reached out and gently touched Alex's back. She didn't move. Her eyes were open though, staring into space like they had been for the past two days.

"Alex, I need you to get up today so we can arrange the funeral. The hospital said they will release her today so you need to step it up. For Diane, Alex. You need to do this for her."

Alex knew she couldn't leave her mom's funeral up to anyone else. She needed to do one last thing for Diane so she got out of bed and padded to the bathroom. Nicky's eyes widened at the sight of her friend as she walked back out of sight. Her green eyes had lost their sparkle and looked grey and hollow, her face pale and blotchy.

Nicky ran out to prepare Lorna.

"Babe, I think she's getting up. Could you make her some toast? She really looks like she should eat. God, I don't know what to do. I've never seen her like this. I keep wanting to ask Diane what I should do."

"Nicky, Alex needs time, it's been a big shock for everyone. Diane wasn't just her mother, she was her best friend."

Nicky hugged Lorna and they both jumped when Alex's voice resonated in the room.

"Where do I start?"

Nicky looked over at a defeated looking Alex and immediately rushed to her, pulling her into a tight hug.

"I don't know, sister, I don't know. We're here for you. Lorna is going to make Tacos tonight and we are going to take it one step at a time."

The funeral came around quickly and Nicky was stressed, hoping they hadn't left anything out. Alex had plunged herself into the day's arrangements, she just ran herself down all day, not stopping to think about anything then getting into bed and falling into a dreamless sleep on a night. She wanted everything to be perfect for her mom.

The crematorium was adorned with daffodils – Diane's favourite flower. Alex had gone a bit overboard. The place was packed out with people, coming to pay their respects and Alex's broken heart swelled with pride at the turn out.

"Diane's daughter would now like to say a few words." The officiator directed everyone's attention to Alex, who hesitated before walking up to the front and taking her place in front of Diane's coffin. She made eye contact with Nicky who gave her a small nod of encouragement.

"T-Thanks for all turning up. Diane would have been proud. I can almost hear her in my head." "I fuckin told you, kid, I was popular!" She chuckled an apology to the officiator and then her face crumpled with grief. Nicky rushed to her side and held onto her hand. Alex gave her hand a squeeze and turned to the coffin.

"Mom, I love you. I don't know why you had to leave but I don't know what I'm going to do without you. This wasn't part of the plan. I remember you telling me you would always be there for me." Alex started to sob. "But now how will you keep your promise? How, Mom? I need you so much. I wish I hadn't gone out that night, I might have been able to change this. Now I'm left alone with no one to come home to, no one to eat thai food with and laugh with after a long day at work. I can't get through it without you. I can't do this… I can't do- this. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

Suddenly she was running, running away from the crematorium, running away from the life she had built. Alex didn't plan on going back to the house. She just needed to be free.

'We are all tied together in a garment of mutual destiny.' Dr King.

Piper Chapman lived a content life. She had received a privileged upbringing, her parents had eventually paid for her education and she had eventually graduated as a financial advisor.

3 Years on, she had bought herself a quaint house and converted the back of it into her own financial advisory business so she could work from home. Business was going good and she was popular in her small home town. She was particularly close to her grandmother, Celeste, who she called in to visit every Friday after work to take her shopping for groceries and have a catch up. She was tired of her mother pushing her to marry a man and have children. Her best friend, Polly, was the one who was trying desperately to become pregnant. She and her husband, Pete had told Piper at their wedding, 3 months ago, that they were going to start trying to conceive and Piper had been delighted. She offered to babysit whenever she could but was secretly pleased she could have some time with a baby and then hand it back to go back to her normal life.

It was a Monday and Piper had two morning appointments before she had to meet Polly for lunch. She decided she was going to drive as the weather was forecast to be stormy. She pulled up outside the coffee shop and trudged inside where she found Polly sitting with both hands around a steaming cup of coffee. Piper slid into the chair opposite her and smiled at her.

"Pol, It's been so long! This is well overdue! How have you been? How's Pete? How's the baby making going?" Piper finished her little rant with a wink to Polly who grinned back at her.

"Well, I've been great, Pipes, Pete's great too and so is this little one…" She patted her belly animatedly and Piper's eyes widened in shock as she processed it for a second before jumping up and squealing, making a few people in the coffee shop jump and look at her.

"OH MY GOD! POLLY! NO WAY? REALLY?" Piper was practically shrieking with excitement.

"ok, ok, calm down Piper, people are staring!" Polly ushered Piper to sit back down but had a small smile playing on her face.

"How far along are you? I want all the gory details!" Piper gushed.

"About 2 months, according to the doctor! Pete's talking about going to Alaska to drink off the shock." She half laughed.

"Well shit, Pol, I can't believe you have a human growing inside you!"

"I know, It actually feels fucking awful. I feel like puking every time I move. Honestly, it's just a weird, horrible feeling so far. I'm hoping it improves."

Polly and Piper spoke for an hour and a half about all things baby and barely anything else before Polly had to go for an appointment and Piper decided to head home. She got into her car and noticed it was starting to rain. She expected this from the weather report this morning so she decided her best plan, since she had no more appointments today would be to go home, pull her favourite chocolates out of the fridge and sit and binge watch movies in her big king size bed she loved to sprawl out in.

She started the car and headed along her normal route but by the time she got to the road she could barely see a hand in front of her. She slowed the SUV down to walking speed and crept along, leaning forward to the steering wheel and squinting her eyes to try to see better.

As she crept along she could make out a figure on the side of the road. "what the f-"

She didn't know what someone was doing out in this rain. Everyone in the town knew it was going to be stormy, so why someone would be out walking was beyond Piper.

She pulled along side them and shouted over the pelting sound of the rain. "HEY, IT'S RAINING PRETTY HARD, DO YOU NEED A LIFT?" The person turned to look at her and pulled their hood back a little. Piper's breathing stopped for a second as she realized it was a woman she was talking to. A woman who had the most beautiful face Piper had ever seen.

The shock must have been evident on Piper's face when the woman replied in the sexiest raspy voice Piper had ever heard. "I'M FINE THANKS, I'M JUST TRYING TO GET SOMEWHERE DRY UNTIL IT STOPS RAINING."

Piper paused for a moment. She wouldn't usually invite a perfect (in more ways than one) stranger into her home but something about this mysterious woman intrigued her.

"HEY, I'M HEADING HOME, YOU COULD COME AND WAIT THERE UNTIL THE RAIN HAS GONE? HAVE A HOT DRINK?"

The woman hesitated but then smiled and climbed into the car. When she was seated beside Piper she pulled the hood of her anorak all the way down, giving Piper an unrestricted look at her features. Long black hair fell around her pale white face which was adorned with thick black framed glasses. Her beautiful plump lips were turned up into a smile, showing an amazingly white set of teeth. Piper inhaled sharply at the sight. It took her off guard and for a minute she forgot she was supposed to be driving.

"Thank you for saving me from that! To say I was getting wet would be an understatement."

Piper tried to pull her mind out of the gutter. "Uh, Yeah, it's no problem. I'm Piper, by the way."

"Alex."

"And what brings you here, Alex?"

"Oh I'm just passing through the town."

Piper pulled the car into the garage so they wouldn't have to get out of the car into the rain.

"Nice house, Piper." Alex stated as she walked into the kitchen.

Piper pulled off her jacket and hung it on the hook on the wall and gestured for Alex to do the same.

"Thanks, it was pretty run down when I bought it but I'm gradually making it my own. Do you want a hot drink, Alex?"

"Yes. Please."

Piper kept stealing glances at Alex from the corner of her eye as she made the drinks. She was sitting on a bar stool with her legs crossed, her damp hair hung down past her shoulders and she had on a black sweater and black slacks.

Piper handed Alex a steaming mug of hot chocolate with whipped cream on top.

"Wow, this looks awesome, thanks."

Piper invited Alex to sit in the lounge with her, the rain was still lashing and it had grown dark outside. The only light in the room was coming from the fireplace where a fire was softly crackling.

"So, what brings you to town, Alex? Where are you planning on staying?"

Piper was secretly hoping she wasn't planning on staying too far away.

"Oh, um, just visiting a friend, I'm going to stay with her." Alex lied.

Since Diane's funeral 3 months ago, Alex had been staying in motel rooms, slowly distancing herself from her pain. The further away she got from her house, the better she felt. She was running away from her feelings but the money she had in her main account had dwindled and she had found herself unable to get home with what little money she had left and had been sleeping rough for the past week, not caring about the savings in her other account she currently had no intentions of accessing or anything she needed to sort out at home. She hadn't contacted Nicky since she left and she knew she would be beside herself with worry by now. She just couldn't bring herself to go home and face the pain of Diane not being there.

"Well, Alex, It's pretty late now and your clothes are pretty wet. You're quite welcome to stay here for the night if you want? I live here by myself, so the company would be nice, plus, I could have your clothes washed and dried by the morning."

Alex deliberated over it for a moment. Piper was absolutely stunning. She had known she was in trouble from the moment she saw the blonde through the car window. Her heart had stopped beating when she got into Piper's car and her perfume had invaded her nose. The truth is, she didn't want to leave. She also didn't want to out stay her welcome but she decided one night wouldn't hurt and truthfully, the prospect of a hot shower and hot food was seeming more and more appealing as time went on.

"That would be great, Pipes. Thanks. I could do with a shower, if you don't mind?"

Piper paused, taken aback by the way the nickname came out of the brunette's mouth with ease. She liked the way it sounded, her raspy voice exiting those beautiful plump lips.

"Piper?"

Piper jumped out of her little daydream. "Yep, Sorry, shower." She managed to direct Alex into the shower, handing her a warm fluffy towel and heading towards her own bedroom.

Alex waited for Piper to retreat out of the bathroom before she turned on the water and stepped under it, letting out a deep sigh as she felt the water run over her scalp and body. She had almost forgotten how good it felt. She stood there rubbing soap suds all over her body and letting them wash off for what seemed like an eternity before she stepped out, wrapping the towel around her body as she realised she had no spare clothes, everything she had was ruined as her backpack had gotten drenched through in the storm. She padded down the hall looking for Piper and came to a halt when she caught a glimpse of movement through the crack in a slightly open door. Her breathing hitched and she stood there unable to move at the sight before her. Piper was standing wearing nothing more than a black lace bra and matching boy shorts. She was clearly getting changed and Alex watched intently before Piper started striding over to the door, sliding an oversized t shirt over her head as she walked. Alex panicked and retreated back down the hall, stopping at the top and beginning to walk back where she just came from, looking like she had just exited the bathroom.

"Nice shower?" Piper queried as she caught sight of Alex coming down the hallway towards her. She couldn't help that her eyes wandered down to take in the long pale legs pouring out from underneath the towel Alex was awkwardly holding around herself.

"Yeah, it was great, thanks, but I don't have any clothes to change into, unfortunately. The rain kinda wet all of mine."

"Oh, gosh, go into my room and look for something to wear, I'm sure there will be something comfortable that will fit you."

Piper smiled warmly at Alex and they locked eyes for a few seconds before Piper breathed in and turned to walk to the kitchen.

Alex padded into Piper's bedroom and began searching for something to wear. She opened a drawer and shut it quickly upon realising it was her underwear drawer. She didn't want to pry. She grabbed a large T shirt and some slack shorts and walked back into the kitchen to find Piper busying herself with some dish washing.

"I'm gonna hit the hay now. Thanks again for letting me stay, I appreciate it."

"It's really no problem, Alex. Sleep tight."

"Good night, Piper."

Alex sank into the spare bed wondering what she had gotten herself into. When she had awoken under a bridge this morning, her head pounding and the pain from losing Diane flooding her broken heart, she had never expected the day to pan out like this. Piper Chapman had put a smile on her face and it terrified Alex. She was already filled with a weird sense of dread at having to leave the blonde in the morning. What she didn't know was that Piper had gone to bed feeling the same sense of dread at Alex having to leave in the morning.


	3. Behind closed doors

Alex's eyes fluttered open to a stream of light pouring through the blinds and landing right over her face. She groaned and buried her face into the pillow. It had been the best nights sleep she'd had since she had left home. She could smell coffee and suddenly remembered she wasn't in her own bed. Squinting at the clock on the bedside cabinet she could make out it was 10am.

"Shit!" she jumped out of bed and padded to the bathroom to check on her appearance and freshen up before going out to face Piper. She wasn't sure why she cared so much about how she looked infront of this perfect stranger.

She ducked into the bathroom, quickly and smoothed out her hair, brushed her teeth and washed her face. Once her glasses were back on her face she felt more awake and in control.

"Hi, Alex, Did you sleep well?"

Piper was standing with her back to her in the kitchen, wearing a striped cotton shirt and light coloured jeans.

"Yes, thanks, that spare bed is surprisingly comfortable!" Alex announced, chuckling.

Piper turned around and lost all train of thought again as she took in Alex. In the daylight she was even better than she had remembered. Her soft dark locks hung down past her shoulders and framed her beautiful pale face.

After what should have been an uncomfortable silence while they both stared at each other, Piper's brain returned to earth.

"Bacon! Uh, Do you want some bacon?"

Alex smirked. She could sense Piper becoming flustered but decided it was down to the face that this obviously straight girl was trying to get rid of her and didn't know how.

"Um, Actually Piper, I think I'll get going. I don't want to out stay my welcome and you have been so kind to me so far."

Alex stood up and Piper felt a stab of disappointment shoot through her. "Do you want to come over for dinner tonight then, you know, just because I've bought too much food…"

Piper trailed off and a blush crept over her face.

"Too much food?" Alex let out a hearty laugh.

"Uh, yeah, they had a sale on and I forgot to freeze the chicken so it has to be used tonight.."

Piper knew she was grasping at straws but decided it was worth it if she got to spend tonight with Alex for company.

Alex smiled. "Yeah, ok, sure!"

"You can bring your friend if you'd like?"

"Friend?"

Alex had a look of utter confusion.

"The friend you are staying with?"

"Oh yeah, Uh, I'll ask her.."

And with that, Alex stood.

"I dried out your backpack too, it's on the table in the hall…"

"Thank you, Piper. See you later!"

Alex grabbed her backpack and headed out the door. It was still chilly and she had no idea what she was going to do to fill the day in before she had to return to Piper's for dinner. She walked down the driveway and out onto the street. Checking her phone, as usual, like every day, she had a message from Nicky begging her to come home.

 ** _Alex, Please, we just need to know you are ok. I am keeping the house and business running, but only just. You need to come home, we can help you cope with this. We love you. N xx_**

Like every day, she dismissed the text message and put the phone back into her pocket. She found a bus stop and sat in it, getting herself comfortable for the long day ahead. She decided she would just cover herself up with her coat and get some more sleep. She hadn't been asleep long when she felt someone prodding her. "Hey buddy, do you need some food or some money?"

She pulled the coat off her head, squinting in the light and came face to face with none other than Piper, who upon seeing her had paused, her face portraying utter shock.

"Alex? What are you doing? Why are you in the bus stop? Do you need a lift?"

Alex jumped up, smoothing her hair as best she could and putting her glasses back on.

"Uh, Hey Piper, I definitely wasn't expecting you here…" Alex was trying to formulate an excuse in her head to explain why she was in the bus stop and not at her 'friend's' place.

"Uh, My friend had to go out of town for the week because of a family emergency, so I didn't really know what to do."

Piper was starting to get sceptical that Alex was ever meeting a friend but didn't want to push her. She knew there was something going on with Alex, she could feel it. She just didn't want to make Alex uncomfortable.

"Well, I was just heading into town so you could come with me if you don't have any other plans? Then we could go back to mine until dinner?"

Alex felt like a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. She only felt the pain of Diane's death lift from her when she was in Piper's presence.

"Sure, that would be great, thanks."

Alex was very quiet as they were walking around the store. Piper was flitting from isle to isle picking up stuff she would need for dinner. She said she was making chicken pasta and Alex was thrilled to be able to finally look forward to food. They got what they needed and then headed home. Alex laid her bag in the hall, where it had been that morning and Piper stopped. Alex turned to her to ask what was wrong when Piper picked up her bag, brushed past her and laid it back in the spare room.

"You can stay here until you have a plan, Alex. Don't you dare feel like you are outstaying your welcome here."

Alex was just about to reply to her when there was a knock on the door. Piper shot her an apologetic look and in swept Polly Harper.

"Pipes! I just went to the baby store! You have to come with me, there's so much cute shit in there, will you help me match colours for the nurs-"

Polly strolled in swinging her keys excitedly and stopped abruptly when she saw Alex.

"Oh, hi…"

She was glancing from Piper to Alex and back again, trying to figure out who Alex was.

"Hey Poll, Uh, this is my friend, Alex. She's staying for dinner. Do you want a coffee?"

Piper turned heel and walked into the kitchen, clearly dodging Polly's obvious impending influx of questions.

"So Alex, how do you know Piper, I don't think she's mentioned you before?"

Polly was already beginning her tirade.

Piper quickly spoke up. "She knows me from university, Poll. I haven't seen her in years."

Piper lied, knowing how Polly would react if she knew she had picked Alex up off the side of the road the day previous. She was constantly warning Piper not to pick up any hitch hikers, branding them all axe murderers. "Oh, was she part of your raging lesbian at university phase?"

Piper almost choked to death and Alex's eyes shot up to Polly, her mouth hanging open slightly. Polly burst out laughing at Piper's reaction. "Chill, Piper, I was joking."

Alex didn't know what to make of the situation. She didn't know whether or not that meant Piper was bisexual or just experimenting in university, or if Polly was making an ungrounded joke. This was making the cogs in Alex's brain turn and she didn't even realize she had zoned out until she heard her name and snapped back to see both women staring at her expectantly.

"Earth to Alex.. I was just asking what you studied at university?"

"Dentistry."

Piper laughed until she realized Alex was serious. She hadn't thought Alex had even gone to university, she had just judged her from the fact she clearly didn't have any money for a hotel, nor was she travelling in a car.

"Huh, nice."

This seemed to satisfy Polly and she cooled her interrogation off.

Piper couldn't get the fact Alex was a dentist out of her head. She kept stealing glances at her. There was so much she didn't know about Alex and she was more than intrigued. She kept finding herself smiling like an idiot at all of her little quirks. It wasn't until she had spilled her coffee down herself that she realized just how engrossed in Alex she had been. She quickly excused herself and half ran out of the room.

The entire time, Alex had noticed Piper staring at her. She wondered what was going through her mind. She knew she wasn't being entirely truthful with Piper but she felt ashamed to admit that she had been sleeping rough and she wasn't ready to face up to the past few months yet.

"Polly, It's been nice meeting you."

Alex stood. She couldn't take anymore of Polly's rambling. She headed down the hall in search of Piper and almost ran straight into her when she came bustling out of her room wearing a different top.

"Polly's still in the kitchen, I think her brain is baby crazy." Alex stated quietly with wide eyes and her hand by her mouth like she was telling a secret.

Piper laughed. "Ok Al, I'll go say bye to her and then we can put dinner on, ok?"

Alex went into the bathroom and put her head against the door. No one called her Al other than Diane. She didn't know how to proceed with all of this. She was definitely attracted to Piper and wondered what Nicky would think of her. She wondered what Diane would think of her. She felt the tears prickle her eyes and couldn't hold it in any longer, she cried for the first time since Diane's death.

Piper had heard Alex crying as she had re entered the bedroom to ask what Alex wanted with her chicken. She put her head up against the door, not knowing Alex's head was directly against hers on the other side. "Alex? Are you ok?"

She heard Piper's soft voice echoing through the door and she got herself together enough to reply. "Yep, I'm fine, I'll be out to help make dinner in a moment."

Piper didn't know what to do, she could hear Alex's sniffles through the door and didn't know whether she should just go in and comfort her or give her space. She decided she was going to give Alex space and let her decide whether she wanted to confide in her or not. She quietly made her way back to the kitchen, giving Alex the privacy she needed and wondering what on earth was going on with this mysterious girl who had fallen into her life.


	4. Picture Perfect

**Howdy! Since it's been a little while, this one's a longer one! Enjoy and please review :) I always love reading your thoughts :)**

Piper busied herself in the kitchen making the chicken pasta. She decided on broccoli as a side and hoped Alex liked it. She couldn't seem to drag her thoughts away from what might be bothering the brunette. Considering she had only known Alex a short time, she felt like she had known her for her whole life. Piper was snapped out of her thoughts by a raspy voice.

"Hey…"

"Hey, I'm just dishing out the Pasta… I made broccoli to go with it."

"Thanks."

Piper and Alex began eating in silence. It wasn't uncomfortable, both were too absorbed in their own thoughts.

"Alex…"

Alex looked up from her food. Piper noted how sexy she looked, her expectant green eyes peering over the top of her glasses, looking directly into her own.

"Yeah?"

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine Pipes. I just needed some time earlier. Don't worry about it."

A surge of disappointment flooded Piper's system that Alex didn't want to confide in her. She knew her feeling was unfounded and quickly pushed it aside, continuing to eat her Pasta.

"I'm going to have a few appointments tomorrow but feel free to make yourself at home while I work.."

"Thanks…"

Alex was unusually quiet and Piper decided to ask her a little about herself to see if she could find out anymore about this mysterious woman sitting in her kitchen.

"Are you really a dentist?"

Alex looked up at Piper, a smirk plastered on her face.

"Yeah, I am. Why?"

"Oh, I just wondered. So where do you work?" Piper asked, blushing under Alex's smirk.

"In a dental hospital…"

Alex raised her eyebrow and Piper sighed. "I'm just trying to find out more about you, Alex. Tell me some facts about yourself?"

Alex was grinning now, she knew Piper was trying to dig to see what the deal was but she wasn't ready to tell just yet. Somewhat hypocritically, she wanted to find out more about Piper before she opened up to her.

"I'm 28, My hair isn't naturally black and I can barely see without my glasses."

"Well, that's a start." Piper flashed her a smile and Alex was sure her heart stopped for a moment.

She didn't know what was happening to her but she felt like Piper was breaking down all her walls already. Her beautiful pearly white, perfectly straight smile, melted her heart and her scent was something Alex savoured whenever Piper walked past her.

"Piper, if I have outstayed my welcome I can leave… I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable, I know we don't know much about each other."

"Alex, seriously, its fine, I've told you, just stay here until you figure out whatever it is you are figuring out. Plus, I kinda like the company. This house gets really quiet and it bothers me sometimes, it's nice having someone to talk to."

Piper looked down shyly at this admission. She knew she felt something for Alex but she didn't want to make herself too obvious. She didn't know what Alex was even doing here. Did she have kids? A husband? The thought made Piper shiver. She didn't want Alex to be with anyone. She liked having her in the house and it wouldn't feel right without her now.

She decided to busy herself with washing the pots. Aware that Alex was watching her every move.

"I'm gonna go take a shower, ok?"

Piper just slightly nodded her head as she heard Alex's chair scrape across the floor and then her footsteps trail away down the hall. She let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding and then padded to her own bedroom. She was just about to tell Alex she had forgotten to give her a towel when she noticed the door to the bathroom was slightly open. She cursed as she remembered she was meant to get her dad to come over and fix the handle. Sometimes the door handle would stick so when you locked it, it didn't work and the entire door was just free to open. Piper was about to retreat back down the hall when she caught sight of Alex standing in the shower with her back to her, her head . The shower glass had steamed making it hard for Piper to actually see much but what she was seeing she was mesmerized by. She stood looking for a while and just as Alex turned around, her phone rang loudly in her pocket. Piper jumped out of her skin and Alex's head snapped up, the sound ringing out through the bathroom. Piper had already darted down the hall to answer it, hoping to god Alex hadn't seen her through the crack in the bathroom door. She took a few calming breaths before answering her phone. It was her mother.

"Hi dear, I'm just calling to tell you that your father and I are planning to stop by at the weekend if you are free."

"Yes, Mom. Oh, before I forget, could daddy bring his tools over to fix my bathroom door? The handle is still not working properly."

"Yes, Piper. See, If you had a husband you wouldn't need daddy to come over and fix it."

Piper sighed at her mother's words and zoned out slightly.

Alex didn't know what was going on, she was sure she had shut the door and locked it when she went into the bathroom but the minute the phone rang out and she saw movement at the door, she knew it was Piper and was wondering why the door was now open. Her mind raced with the thought that Piper could have actually been looking in at her. Was Piper straight? Alex's head was a total mess. She didn't want to mess up her chances of staying with Piper and not having to go home. She didn't want to face going back home now but she knew if she ended up having to leave Piper's house, she would inevitably have to return home.

She wrapped a towel around herself and she could hear Piper on the phone to someone. She heard her asking if her dad could fix the bathroom door and a pang of disappointment shot through her at the thought Piper was merely trying to close the door for her. Part of her wanted Piper to be peeking through the door at her. She shook her head and changed into some shorts and a tank top and walked into the lounge where Piper was finishing up her phone call. The blonde wouldn't meet her eye, casting her gaze down on the floor, her cheeks somewhat blushed.

Alex smirked at this. Maybe she hadn't been closing the door after all.

"So what was going on back there?"

"Back where?" Piper decided to play ignorant, not knowing how to deal with the situation she had found herself in.

"The bathroom… what's wrong with the door? I was sure I had closed it when I went in there."

"Yeah, uh, its broken. I forgot. Since there's never usually anyone here, I usually just leave the door open anyway, so I wasn't in a hurry to get it fixed. Sometimes it closes and sometimes the lock sticks back and it doesn't even close. I was just, uh, going to try to close the door, and, um, that's when my mom rang."

"Oh! And here's me thinking you were checking me out!" Alex laughed and Piper somewhat half laughed along.

"Piper, come on. Don't be shy. We're both girls. I mean, Thank god. I don't deal with the male species. Yuk!" Alex screwed her face up.

"What do you mea- oh!" Piper's eyes went wide as she realized what Alex was saying.

Piper quickly gathered herself. She could feel herself becoming more and more flustered as this conversation went on. There was a part of her that was ecstatic that Alex was only attracted to girls and another part of her that was now incredibly nervous, thinking about all that could potentially happen between them. She didn't know why she was even thinking that. Just because Alex likes women doesn't mean she would be attracted to Piper.

Upon seeing Piper's mind going a million miles per hour, Alex decided it was time for her to head to bed and let Piper deal with the information overnight.

"Well, I guess I'm going to go to bed now. Hopefully the door closes or you'll have to watch me drooling on the pillow."

Alex laughed, filled a glass with water and padded to the bedroom with a smirk on her face. Knowing she had planted a seed of thought in Piper's mind.

Piper's brain was in overdrive. She was so tired of thinking and trying to figure out exactly what was going on between her and Alex. She didn't even know the woman but she couldn't shake the feeling that something big was going on between them. It's like Alex had been dropped into her life by that storm. She knew she wasn't going to get much sleep that night but decided to go to bed anyway, her day was full of appointments tomorrow and she knew she had to be focused with them.

Alex walked into the kitchen the next morning, still feeling sleepy. She stopped in her tracks and her eyes almost bulged out of her head as she took in the sight in front of her. Piper was sitting at the table, her hair pulled back into a low bun, a cream fitted shirt with ¾ sleeves and a navy blue pencil skirt that ended at her knees. Her stiletto heels were sitting in front of her and she was munching on a slice of toast as she read the morning paper. She looked up as she heard Alex enter the room.

"Good morning, Here, I made toast. There's orange juice in the jug." Piper exclaimed, inwardly smirking to herself as she saw Alex's eyes trawl over her.

"Thanks, I'll grab something in a little bit. Hey, I was going to suggest I fix some stuff around the house while you are working. I'm pretty handy. My mom was pretty hopeless with stuff so I had to learn and I picked up quite a lot of handy tips and tricks. If you would let me maintain the place, I could help you decorate it like you were planning.."

Alex shifted her glasses on her face, nervously. She knew there was a chance that Piper would ask about her upbringing and her mom and it wasn't a subject she was ready to cover.

Piper had seen the look on Alex's face when she had mentioned her Mom. It was like it caused her physical pain to say the word and Piper instinctively knew she shouldn't mention it.

"Yeah, I think that sounds like a great idea, Al! I'll leave my purse on the side, just go grab supplies from the shop if you need them. I'll just be out back if you need me. Otherwise I'll be done around 4ish, then we can discuss dinner."

"Ok, Laters Pipes."

Alex couldn't help but check Piper out as she walked from the room, her heels making her calf muscles prominent.

She bit into a piece of toast, blissfully aware that mealtimes were becoming somewhat of a "thing" for them. It always seemed like they would have their own little chats or revelations over a meal. Alex decided she was going to call to the hardware store down the street and grab some stuff to fix the lock on the door, then she was going to start sanding and painting the windows at the front of the house. She didn't know whether this would be crossing the line but the windows looked worse for wear and she decided it would be one job less that Piper would have to tackle.

As she crossed the street to the hardware store, she couldn't help but bask in the sunshine. She felt happier than she had done in months. The only thing that was weighing her down was knowing that Nicky must be completely out of her mind with worry. She decided to use a payphone and call her to let her know she is ok.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Nick, It's me. I haven't got long but I just wante-"

"Vause? WHAT THE ABSOLUTE FUCK! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU? I THOUGHT YOUR ASS WAS DEAD. YOU NEED TO COME HOME NOW. I'M ONLY JUST KEEPING YOUR JOB HERE AND YOUR HOUSE."

Nicky was on a rant, yelling down the phone at Alex who had now removed the phone from her ear and was holding it away from herself.

"NICKY, just wait a minute. I don't have long. I just wanted to tell you to stop worrying I'm ok. I'm not ready to deal with anything at the moment. I'm staying at a friend's house. Don't worry."

Alex hung up the phone, breathed out and walked out of the phone box. She felt oddly relieved that Nicky knew she was ok but a surge of guilt washed over her as she realised Nicky was struggling to keep up with the excuses for her at work. She was in demand enough that they wouldn't fire her easily but she knew there was only so much they would take before they replaced her. What she hadn't told Piper was that she had just gotten paid her monthly wage from the dental hospital and she was making all these repairs with her own money.

She headed back to the house with the supplies she needed and began the work on the lock. By the time she had the windows half sanded it was 4pm. She didn't see Piper standing in the doorway of the house watching her.

"You didn't have to do the windows you know?"

Alex jumped. "Jesus, Piper. How long have you been standing there?

"Not long! I just finished work. I'm just going to get changed and head out to get some groceries. Do you wanna come?"

"Sure, Let me just wash the paint off my hands."

Alex watched as Piper headed inside, once again mesmerised by her legs and ass.

Piper knew Alex was watching her as she headed in with a smirk on her face.

They got into Piper's car and the radio came on blaring making Piper jump.

"Holy shit, Alex! Could you not have turned that down when you parked up?"

Alex chuckled a little. "oops! Sorry!"

Piper smiled as they drove to the store. Both girls kept stealing glances at each other while the other wasn't looking.

They strolled around the grocery store. Piper humming quietly to herself and throwing groceries haphazardly in the cart.

"Hey, do you want to go to the movies tonight?"

Alex was taken off guard by this. She hadn't been to the movies since she was a teenager and the thought of having to sit next to Piper and focus on something other than her was going to be a hard task but she decided it would be worth it if she got to spend more time with Alex.

"Sure, we could share a popcorn."

Alex had taken the car back into town when Piper was putting the groceries away so she could buy some clothes and makeup to go out in. She'd been washing and re wearing the same two outfits the entire time she had been staying with Piper. She bought herself a new pair of dark jeans and a low cut black top that made her cleavage look awesome. She went back to Piper's to get ready, leaving her long black locks hanging down around her shoulders and made an effort with her makeup. She walked out just as Piper was coming out of her room and they both stood gawking at each other. Piper knew Alex was hot but she had only ever seen her in the same two casual outfits and no makeup. Her mouth hung open as she took in the scene before her. She studied her face, her eyes looked even more green beneath the winged eyeliner. Her gaze dropped to the top she was wearing and how nice her boobs looked in it.

"See something you like?" Alex chuckled. She too, liked what she saw. Piper was wearing a light coloured shirt and a pair of light coloured jeans, her hair was loose and wavy and her makeup was light. She looked angelic but in a hot kind of way. Alex laughed at the bright red blush that crept over Piper's face as she realised she had been caught staring at Alex's cleavage.

"Uh, I, no, well yeah, um, uh…" Piper was struggling to come up with an excuse to justify herself. Alex walked past her chuckling before she got a chance.

"Come on, kid, anymore of that staring and we'll miss the movie."

Piper followed her, a sly smile on her blushed face.

This was going to be a good night, Alex thought.

"Jesus, Piper, how much do you eat?" Alex said as she tried to shuffle into her seat with all of the food they had just bought. Piper had insisted that they buy two hotdogs, a supersize bucket of popcorn, two packets of chips and a supersize lemonade. Alex had only wanted a small popcorn and a bar of chocolate. She had decided against the chocolate when she had seen how much food Piper was accumulating.

"I like choices! I change my mind too easy and I don't want to have to go out and order more during the movie!" Piper exclaimed.

Alex just laughed. She had bargained with Piper that if she got to buy all that food, Alex was going to choose the movie. She had purposely chosen a horror in the hopes that Piper would need protecting. She knew it was a long shot but she was sure there was something between them and needed to check to make sure she wasn't making it up in her head.

Piper was flabbergasted at her movie choice but a deal was a deal so she went along with it.

Midway through the film, Piper was peeking from behind her hands, her knees were bent up towards her chest protectively and Alex couldn't help but chuckle at her. Alex decided it was now or never, her heart was racing. She knew if she had misread this she could end up having to go home. She moved the popcorn bucket from between them and sat it on the floor, she lifted the armrest up and grabbed hold of Piper, dragging her over to herself and draping her arm around her. Piper removed her hands from her face and looked shocked for a moment before relaxing into Alex, smiling to herself at how natural it felt. She didn't know exactly what was going on between her and Alex but she knew she had feelings for her and was happy to explore them. She had been with girls in college, Polly wasn't lying when she had asked Piper about it. Alex was different though, she felt like she could see into her soul and it scared her a little at how intense it was.

The movie finished and both girls travelled home in silence, both thinking about what had just happened and what would come next. Alex moved her hand over Piper's on the gear shift and Piper felt her heart race at the gesture. Her stomach was filled with butterflies but neither of them said anything.

They entered the house and Piper hung her coat on the peg. Piper didn't know what to expect. She didn't know where the line was in this situation. She didn't want Alex to feel uncomfortable staying here.

"So..." Alex muttered as they stood in silence.

"So…" Piper said as she shuffled on her feet with nervous anticipation. She suddenly seemed hyper aware that she was alone with Alex.

Alex took a step closer to Piper and leant in to her ear.

"Thanks for going to the cinema with me, Pipes, It's been amazing." She breathed onto Piper's skin and Piper visibly shivered.

Then Piper did something that shocked them both. She turned her head so that their faces were centimetres apart.

Alex closed the gap and suddenly lips were gently brushing against each other.


	5. Connecting worlds

**New chapter while I have time... A lot going on in this chapter. Rated M because Piper can never make her mind up when it comes to Alex ;) Says she wants one thing and always ends up doing the opposite! As always, Please review :)**

 **Lise x**

They pulled away, looking at each other's faces for signs of hesitation but only found mutual want. Before Piper knew it, Alex was kissing her frantically and she was being pushed backward, into the living area and onto the sofa. Her hands were buried in the back of Alex's soft hair. Her mind was in overdrive as she realised how much she had wanted this to happen. As much as she was enjoying it, she could feel Alex's hands searching for a way into her top and she wanted to take things slowly. After all, she didn't know anything about Alex other than her profession.

"Al?" Piper mumbled, breathless.

"Yeah?"

"As much as I'm enjoying this, I think we should slow down." Piper said sheepishly. Not knowing what Alex's reaction would be.

Alex sat up, her breathing uneven.

"It's not that I don't want you, it's just that I want to take things slowly."

Alex nodded her head. "Look, Pipes, I like you. I mean, A lot. I haven't been able to stop thinking about you. I don't know what's going on with me, but I need to know you feel the same."

"I do, Al. I just barely know anything about you. I want to get to know you before we go any further with this. I want to do it properly, rather than just rush."

"I understand. Would a cuddle and a movie be out of the question?"

Piper smirked. "Definitely not."

Alex blinked awake. She and Piper had fallen asleep on the couch after the movie. Her neck was stiff due to the awkward angle she had fallen asleep in. She looked down and her heart skipped a beat as she realised Piper was laying with her head on her stomach, her arm draped over her, her breathing deep and even.

She desperately needed the bathroom and cautiously removed herself from Piper's grip as she padded down the hallway into the bathroom. She decided she would get ready and head in to town, get some ingredients and make Piper a cooked breakfast.

Piper awoke to someone knocking on the door. She blinked a few times, trying to wake herself up enough to form a coherent thought. There was another knock.

"Ugh! Hold on, I'm coming!" She figured Alex must have gone to bed during the night.

She opened the door.

"Um, hi, I was wondering if Alex is here? I asked around in the grocery store and someone said they had seen her with you and told me to check here."

"Uh, Sorry, Whose asking?"

"Nicky Nicholls, her best friend."

Piper was taken aback by this and invited her in for a coffee.

"I'll just pull some clothes on and brush my teeth, I Won't be a moment."

Piper ran to Alex's bedroom to warn her about Nicky but she wasn't there. Scrunching her face up she tried to call Alex's cell several times but there was no answer.

She decided Alex had probably just popped into town since all her stuff was still in her room. She would just have to wait for her to return.

Alex was walking around the store blissfully unaware that Nicky had managed to track her down.

She loaded up the car and headed back to the house. On pulling up to the house she had a sense that something was different. She walked in with the bags and her eyes almost dropped out of her head.

Piper was in the kitchen chatting away happily to Nicky who had looked up from her coffee and raised an eyebrow when Alex had walked in.

Piper had quickly stopped talking and fallen silent, observing what was happening. The two women were staring at each other. Alex's eyes were wide with fear, her expression was nothing short of horrified. Alex turned and bolted into her room like a teenager.

"Nicky, what exactly is going on with Alex?"

"You mean you don't actually know her? What the fuck is she staying here for blondie?"

"I picked her up, she was caught in a storm and she said she was visiting a friend?"

Piper was so confused. She didn't know what was going on with Alex. She had a sneaking suspicion that she was never going to stay with a friend but now she didn't have a clue what was going on.

"Well she doesn't have a friend here. I've been worried out of my mind for the past three months! She just up and left. I've been barely keeping her life together since she's been gone. Not that I don't have my own life to live or anything."

Nicky was on a full on rant and Piper was about to show her famous temper.

"NICKY. WOULD YOU JUST TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON. YOU'VE COME INTO MY HOUSE LOOKING FOR ALEX AND YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE THE DECENCY TO TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON WHEN SHE STORMS OUT OF HERE."

Nicky was stood staring at Piper, She hadn't expected that outburst and it took her off guard. She had to admit though, she liked Piper's feistiness. Nicky looked intimidating and she was glad Piper could hold her own.

"She's not in a good place at the moment, Piper. Her Mom died unexpectedly three months ago and she bolted out of the funeral without a trace. She called me from the town pay phone and I had a friend trace it to this town. So I came here and asked around. You, Piper Chapman, are quite popular in this little town. I only had to mention dark hair and glasses and they knew exactly who she was hanging out with and where she was staying."

Piper was horrified at Nicky's admission. Her heart was breaking for Alex. She had often thought about what kind of situation Alex might be in but she didn't think it would be something so heart breaking.

Nicky had continued talking to Piper but she had zoned out. She could only think of her overwhelming desire to hold Alex and comfort her. She stood up.

"Nicky, you'll have to excuse me for a moment."

She knocked softly on Alex's bedroom door.

"Al?"

She heard a sniff but no reply.

"Al, I'm coming in."

Piper slowly pushed open the door to find Alex face down on her bed, her face buried in her pillow. Piper approached the bed and sat on the edge. She placed her hand on her back gently and only got another sniff in response. She couldn't take it any longer, she lay down beside Alex, draped one side of her body over Alex's and wrapped her arm around her.

She figured she needed to get as close to Alex as possible, to comfort her. To take her pain away.

Alex shifted slightly.

"I'm sorry about your mom, Alex."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Pipes. I wasn't ready to face it yet and now Nicky has ruined everything. I'm going to have to leave with her to sort all of this out and I don't want to leave you, Pipes. I don't want to leave here."

Piper didn't want Alex to leave, either. She had gotten used to having Alex in the house. In the short time she had been there she had made Piper's house feel like home.

"Al, pull yourself together for a few hours. Lets go talk to Nicky about everything. I know this is hard but I'll be right by your side."

"I just need to go to the bathroom first."

Alex stood up. She quickly left the room not wanting Piper to see her in such a state.

She looked in the bathroom mirror, her eyes were bloodshot from crying. She realised she had acted like a child by running out of the room when she saw Nicky but she just wasn't ready to face anything yet. Seeing her was making it too real again. Too real that her mother had gone. Bringing the pain bubbling up to the surface. She had pushed it to the back of her head but now it was right back at the front. She splashed cold water onto her face and tried to regain her composure.

When she walked into the lounge area, Nicky was sitting on the couch waiting for her.

"Do you want me to give you two some space, Al?"

Piper didn't know whether she was overstepping the mark by staying in the room while Alex and Nicky talked it out. She and Alex had only just admitted they liked each other last night and she didn't want to push Alex into something she wasn't comfortable with.

"No, Pipes, I want you here. You deserve to know everything that has gone on. Stay, Please."

Alex sat beside Piper and grabbed hold of her hand.

"So, what exactly is going on with you and blondie here then, Vause?" Nicky said, looking down at their entwined hands, perplexed.

Alex looked at Piper cautiously, not knowing how to reply to Nicky. She decided to quickly change the subject.

"I thought you came here to lecture me on running and to convince me to come home, so why don't you get it over with, Nicky."

Alex knew this would hurt Nicky a little bit. They had always been like sisters, looking out for each other.

"I don't want to lecture you or convince you, Vause. You have to come home or you will lose your job. You know, the one Diane was ecstatic that you had. The house you two had will go under too. I don't have access to your bank. I've been paying what I can of your bills myself and struggling with my own. All while you are here playing house with this stranger."

Nicky shot back at Alex and Alex visibly flinched at Diane's name being mentioned. She hadn't realised that Nicky had been paying her bills.

"You've been paying my bills?"

"We aren't all a top dental surgeon with a god damn mansion, Alex. I've been struggling. I've been paying what I can but they are already complaining that it's not enough. You have to come home and sort it out."

Piper was shocked at the mention Alex was actually a top dental surgeon with a mansion no less. This 'Homeless' girl she had taken in and fed and was now falling in love with – she stopped in her thoughts at that last admission. How could she be falling in love with someone she barely knew? Someone she barely knew and felt like she had known for years. None of it made sense.

"I'm sorry, Nicky. I needed to get away, I handled it all wrong."

"Well you have to come back with me."

"I don't want to leave Piper."

She looked shocked at the fact she had said that out loud and glanced around at the other two women who were both staring at her wide eyed.

"Geez, Vause. What are you, a lovesick puppy?"

Nicky saw Alex's expression and her eyes widened. She moved swiftly on, making a mental note to ask Alex about it later on.

"Pack your shit, Vause. We're going."

I need to talk to Piper, Nicky. I agree, I'll come home, but I'll come home tomorrow. I need to get my head together. I can't just leave. I'm sorry.

Nicky had already stood, she had been expecting Alex to say this.

"Ok. Alex if you don't come home tomorrow, I'm not looking after everything anymore. It's time for you to step up to your responsibility. Diane would be so mad at you right now."

Nicky was already out the door. She didn't want to see Alex's reaction to what she had just said. She knew it was a low blow but someone needed to kick Alex's ass back into shape.

Alex let out a huge breath once Nicky was out of the house. She looked at Piper not knowing what to expect. Piper squeezed her hand and then stood up.

"I'm going to make us a hot drink and a sandwich and then we are going to talk this out."

Piper strode over to the kitchen and rubbed her face. She couldn't believe what had unravelled since she had woken up this morning. She grabbed some chicken and made a sandwich and two cups of tea and then headed back into the living room.

"So, Alex, how do we go forward from here?"

"I'm really not sure, Piper. I really like you, in all honesty I don't want to leave you. I feel like you are the one good thing I've got in my life since my mom."

Alex swallowed hard.

"Al, I think I'm falling for you."

Piper looked down at her cup of tea as she said this. She didn't know how Alex would react, she already had so much to think about and deal with. Before she knew it, her cup was being removed from her hands and she was being pressed against the couch by Alex's full weight. She was kissing her passionately and Piper's heart was going crazy, her stomach filled with butterflies as Alex's full lips worked their magic. Her tongue was massaging Piper's with expert movement and Piper couldn't help but let out a moan which in turn spurred Alex on. Soon they were frantic and Piper was pulling Alex toward her bedroom.

They fell onto the bed in a pile of entangled limbs, pulling off each other's clothes as they fought for dominance. Alex won the battle and soon she was towering over Piper who was undoing Alex's bra, Feeling and groping every inch of previously hidden skin. In minutes, both women were stripped down to their underpants and stopped to marvel at each other.

"Piper, You're beautiful." Alex purred, breathlessly.

Piper was feeling so overwhelmed with feelings that all she could do was pull Alex back into a kiss, this time it was more loving and less rushed. Alex wanted Piper to know she cared about her. She didn't want something quick, she wanted something lasting. She kissed down Piper's chest and down to her belly. She was savouring every moment of this time with Piper, not knowing what the future would hold for them. Piper was flooded with pleasure as she felt Alex completely take over. Her senses were enveloped with Alex and she couldn't get enough.

"Take them off." Piper gasped.

Alex didn't know whose underpants Piper was talking about so she took off her own before taking off Piper's. Piper groaned in appreciation when Alex pressed the entire length of her now naked body against her own. She reached out and took one of Alex's smooth breasts in her hand and began to massage it. A low moan came from Alex's mouth in response which sent pleasure shooting through Piper's body.

Alex reached down and started to rub between Piper's legs with her hand, gently. Piper jumped upon feeling Alex's hand touch her and then threw her head back into the Pillow.

"Oh my god. Alex!"

Piper was rapidly losing herself and her control and Alex could sense this, she sped up her actions and Piper reached out and copied what Alex was doing. Before they knew it, their actions were frantic as they reached the peak of their pleasure.

"Come with me, Pipes." Alex growled breathlessly.

Within seconds they were both falling over the edge, bodies sweating and groans of pleasure filling the now warm room.

Piper opened her eyes to look at Alex who was breathless but had an eyebrow raised and a smirk on her face.

"Well, that was unexpected!" She chuckled.

Piper smiled. "Yeah, You're really bad at that."

"Come with me." Alex said, suddenly, tracing circles on Piper's bare stomach.

"What?"

"Come home with me, just for a few days until everything is sorted out."

"I mean, I would have to move some appointments around but I guess I could come with you for a few days if that's what you want. I don't want to intrude, Al. This all seems so quick."

Alex deliberated over this for a moment. "I know it seems quick, logically. But I feel like I've known you my entire life and I just can't explain it, Pipes. My life was falling apart before I met you and now I can't imagine a life without you in it. I don't want to push you to come with me but it would be a lot easier to deal with everything if you were there with me."

Piper kissed her passionately and then Alex pulled back to look at her.

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes, you idiot."


	6. House warming

Part 6

Alex had put the navigation system on in Piper's car and put in her address. Piper had insisted on driving since Alex had been a bit zoned out all morning at the thought of facing up to the fact Diane was no longer at the house. Alex was sitting in the car waiting for Piper, it was raining outside and Piper had ran back into the house to grab her phone charger. Alex smiled as Piper rushed back into the drivers seat, the cool air rushing into the car, in turn, blowing Piper's scent straight into Alex's face. She inhaled deeply as Piper got herself comfortable.

"Jesus! It's freezing out there! I don't think it ever stops raining in this damn town!"

"I've got a way to warm you up!" Alex wagged her eyebrows suggestively and Piper laughed.

Deep down Piper knew Alex was deflecting her own worry and hurt with her humour but she decided to play along so she would feel better.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't get ahead of yourself Miss Vause. Road trip today."

Piper turned on the music and they took off for the Vause household.

XXXX

"Pull over, Piper."

Piper looked at Alex with her brow furrowed. We're almost there, Al…

"PULL OVER!"

The car skidded to a halt and Alex got out hands on her knees, breathing heavily, her unsteady breath visible.

Piper jumped out and ran around to Alex's side.

"Al? What's up? Are you ok?"

Alex stood up straight, she tipped her head back, her eyes scrunched closed and she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I thought I could do this but I can't. I can't do it, Pipes. We just drove past the place my mom waitressed at. She worked there from when I was like 8 up until I graduated. Piper, I can't do this."

Piper grabbed hold of Alex and pulled her in close. "Alex, you can. You are strong enough to get through this. I Promise. It's just a few days and if you can't do it we can go back to mine, ok? Get back into the car and just close your eyes. I'm right here."

Alex stayed in Piper's grasp for another couple of minutes until she sighed heavily and got back into the car. It broke Piper's heart to see Alex so vulnerable. She grasped her hand tightly and proceeded down the route the navigation system was directing her on.

Alex still had her eyes closed as they pulled into the driveway of the home. It was a winding driveway and Piper was in awe of the beautiful trees that led up to the house.

Although Alex had her eyes closed, she knew they had pulled into the driveway. She knew every bump and turn of the road like the back of her hand.

Piper squeezed her hand as they stopped.

"Al, We're here. I have to say, you have a beautiful home…" Piper stated, softly.

"I know we are here Piper. Just give me two minutes?"

They sat there in silence for a while before Alex finally opened her eyes. Her eyes fixated on the front door. Diane had spent a weekend making and decorating the wooden letters 'A' and 'D' to hang beside it. She had told Alex she wanted to make it theirs and she thought it was the perfect way to show people whose house it was. She was so proud. She got out of the car, surprising Piper, who thought they might have to sit there for a while longer. Alex led Piper to the front door where she traced her fingers over the two large wooden letters.

"My mom made these for us. She was so happy, Piper. She spent an entire weekend fussing over making them perfect for her new house." A stray tear fell down Alex's face and she ignored it. Pushing the front door open it felt like she hadn't left. She knew Nicky would be at work by now so she could show Piper around without any distractions.

Piper was still in awe of the property. She almost found it humorous that she had taken Alex into her home, thinking she had no money, no home and in reality she was clearly much better off financially than Piper.

"Pipes, would you like a drink of something?" Alex was looking directly at Piper.

"If you need to make peace, Al, I can make us both a drink if you like?"

"Sure, make yourself at home." Alex winked at Piper and smirked but Piper could see that Alex was struggling to keep her emotions under check.

Alex made her way out of the room as Piper approached the kitchen to make a drink and Alex wandered off up the hallway.

Alex could hear her own heart beating hard, a wooshing sound in her ears as she tried not to lose control as she approached Diane's room. Pushing open the door, everything was just as Diane had left it. Her rings and jewellery on her bedside table alongside the TV remote. Alex approached the bed and sat down. She picked up a pillow and brought it to her face, inhaling deeply. It still smelled just like Diane and Alex couldn't maintain her composure any longer. The pain shot through her like a thousand knives as the realization set in that soon the smell would fade and she would never smell it again. Diane was truly gone. Alex collapsed into the bed sobbing. She couldn't believe she would have to live without her mom. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she was pulled into Piper's arms.

"Just let it all out, Al."

After what seemed like an eternity of Alex crying into Pipers lap she looked up at her.

"Diane would be so angry with me for running off. She would be up there vomiting angel dust."

Piper half laughed. "No she wouldn't, she would be proud of you right now for coming back to face everything." She bent over Alex and kissed her on the mouth.

"Ugh, It's not hot when your snot drips in my mouth like that."

"Oh you don't like that?" Alex laughed.

Piper pulled her up off the bed and put her hands on the tops of Alex's arms, looking her square in the eye.

"Listen, Al. I know you are finding this incredibly hard and you are allowed to grieve, but from what you have told me about Diane she would want you to tackle this head on and then live your life to the full. She was proud of you, keep making her proud." She leant in and gave Alex a quick peck on the lips.

"Now come on! Your drink is getting cold and you still haven't shown me around this beautiful house."

Piper knew Alex was struggling and knew she needed an encouraging word.

Alex sat quietly, sipping her tea whilst Piper looked at her cautiously, not exactly sure what to do next.

Suddenly Alex stood and gestured for Piper to come over to her.

"Here, Pipes, I'll take you on that tour you so badly want but I want to tell you a little bit about the house first."

Piper sat on Alex's lap and listened intently.

"We didn't have anything while I was growing up. My deadbeat dad was never in the picture and he never contributed financially for me while I was growing up. My mom struggled working a few different jobs just so we could live in this grubby little apartment. My room was this grey colour and when I hit my teens I covered the walls in posters and quotes from my favourite books, to try and make it look better than it was. My mom's wages only just covered the bills so some days she would collect the leftover food people were going to waste and we would warm it up once she got home. She would light some candles and call it a feast. Of course the candles were so she didn't have to put the lights on because she couldn't afford the electricity bill to be high. I loved it. Regardless of whether it was leftovers, some days I got Pizza, some days we got chips. It was only when I hit my teens that I realised the seriousness of what my mom had been going through, basically on her own. I knew I had to do something so I really got stuck into my study, Eventually it was noticed and I was offered a scholarship for university. My mom was so happy, I decided I was gonna move out, live at uni. I figured it would be easier on her if she didn't have to worry about feeding me, didn't have to worry about me using the electricity or the water. I graduated and I was offered a job immediately. I worked my way up and eventually I was top of the line, a dental surgeon at that private hospital in the city. I hadn't told my mom but I was saving like crazy so I would be able to move her out of the apartment. I bought her this house as a surprise. She didn't really know what to do at first, she had struggled for so long and then suddenly she had all this time on her hands. I told her she could just be housekeeper and chef. We picked out the furniture and decorated it together. She really did look after this place while I was at work. She made it a home, Piper."

Alex had tears streaming down her face but she didn't stop until she had finished telling Piper about her past.

"Alex, I you are an amazing person. Honestly, I can't believe you turned your life around like that, turned your mom's life around like that. Al, you gave her the best life. The best thanks for all her hard work. You are an amazing person." Piper leant down and captured Alex's lips with hers.

"Show me around your amazing house."

Alex pulled Piper around the house showing her the different rooms, telling her the back stories about the decoration her and Diane had chosen for each room. Piper couldn't help but admire the way Alex's eyes glinted every time she spoke about Diane. She couldn't believe how quickly she had fallen for this woman. Everything about her amazed Piper and she found herself zoning out of what Alex was saying and getting lost in her facial expressions, the way her raven hair fell softly around her shoulders and shone in the light, her beautiful green eyes, vibrant under their heavy black eyeliner, her plump rosy lips moving as she spoke. Piper's eyes fell down to her body. She admired the way her breasts looked in the top she was wearing, oh how she wished she was touching them right now. Her toned stomach behind that thin piece of fabric, Piper's eyes continued to roam lower as she took in Alex's toned ass, the pants she was wearing showed it off and Piper's mouth started to water.

Piper was snapped out of her daydreaming by Alex clicking her fingers by her face. "See something you like?"

Alex had her signature smirk on her face. "You kinda zoned out there, Pipes."

She reached out and wiped the corner of Piper's mouth in a mocking way. " You've got a bit of drool there.."

Piper felt herself blushing. "Shut up, Al. It's not my fault you look so damn gorgeous."

Alex didn't have a comeback for her on that one, she just pulled Piper into her body and started to kiss her.

"Shall I show you my room now?" Piper started kissing her feverishly, the kiss desperate and raw. Alex was backing her up to the stairs and Piper fell onto them, her back hitting the steps.

"Oh shit, sorry, Pipes, did I hurt you?"

Piper just shook her head and pulled Alex on top of her. She could hear noises of pleasure but she wasn't sure if they were coming from her mouth, she was so desperate to feel all of Alex that she was dizzy. Alex's hands roamed up her top and removed it, leaving her in her bra, the feeling of Alex's skin on her was driving her crazy as her hands roamed across her stomach and up to cup her breasts. Piper wasn't even making any thoughts anymore, she was in heaven. She pulled Alex's top over her head and her breath hitched as she realised she hadn't been wearing a bra. Alex reached down and unbuttoned Piper's jeans, she broke the kiss and pulled them and her underpants down in one motion. Piper could barely catch her breath and she was making audible gasps. Alex hadn't even touched her yet and she was already about to come undone. Her hand snaked to the back of Alex's head and pulled her back into the kiss, her tongue roaming every part of the brunette's mouth. Alex pushed Piper up the stairs so she was slightly above her and she worked her way down her body, peppering it with kisses and licks as she went along. In the position they were in now, Piper's legs could dangle comfortably over Alex's shoulders. "Jesus Christ, Al."

Piper could barely take it any longer, she needed to feel Alex now. Alex could sense this and she made the first lick right from Piper's entrance to her throbbing clit. She was already so wet and Alex wasted no time in lapping up all of her sweetness. Piper was writhing under her, mumbling incomprehensible things. Alex slid two fingers into Piper and she let out a loud moan at the sensation. It didn't take long before Alex could feel Piper's walls start to flutter around her fingers, the movement of her hips uneven and her breathing laboured. She knew it wouldn't be long before Piper was falling over the edge.

"Fuck, Al… I'm gonna…"

She didn't get to finish her sentence before the pleasure exploded within her, her back arching off the stairs, wrapping her legs tighter around Alex's shoulders, pulling her closer, trapping her. Alex slowly brought Piper down from her high. Piper leant her head back against the stairs for a few moments before breathing out and looking down at Alex who was busy wiping her mouth on her arm. She looked back up at Piper and grinned.

"Well, we didn't make it all the way up the stairs, but, eh, close enough."

They both laughed. "oh my god, Al, that was amazing." Piper unwrapped her legs from around Alex's shoulders, they trembled as she did so.

"Jesus, I don't think I'm ever going to be able to walk again, you turn me into a huge pile of jelly."

Alex laughed, she stood up and scooped Piper into her arms. "Wanna see my bedroom? Y'know, for future reference?"

"Uh, Yeah…"

Alex had converted the attic in the house when they had first bought it and she used it as her own living space as well as her bedroom. She loved her room, the comfort of it. It had turned out exactly how she wanted it to. Piper gasped as she took in the space, the sun had mostly gone down now and she could see the stars through a huge skylight on the roof. The room had a bare light wooden floor, on the side where the roof slanted there was a shorter white wall where it met the floor which was covered in elaborately hand lettered book quotes. The wall by the bed was painted a charcoal colour and had a huge black and white framed picture of a cheetah, its eyes piercing blue. The huge bed was adorned with a crisp white waffle duvet and a charcoal coloured throw, neatly folded along the bottom. Two impressively sized bedside tables stood with lamps on either one, white ceramic bases with neat modern charcoal coloured shades. There was a giant shag pile rug at the foot of the bed and a charcoal upholstered ottoman, the width of the bed stood proudly on top. One of the walls was lined with books, a beautiful couch and two very comfy looking chairs sat to the left of the bed area and a gorgeous silver flatscreen TV was placed in front of them. On the other wall was a desk, neatly laid out with Alex's computer, Papers neatly stacked and a Small potted plant. Piper had grown up privileged but even she couldn't believe the beauty of this room. It just screamed "Alex".

"Woah… Alex! This is beautiful!"

Alex glanced at Piper, nervously shifting her glasses up her nose. It still made her feel a bit out of place when people admired her house. She still wasn't used to having money or living with beautiful furnishings and she didn't quite know what to do with the compliment.

"Uh, Yeah, well, I figured if Mom needed me out of the way or she or I wanted time alone, then I could just come up here and I'd have everything I needed, really." She sheepishly pointed to the ottoman at the foot of the bed.

"Open it."

Piper obliged and let out a hearty laugh at what she found. It was lined with snacks. One side had glass over the top, obviously refrigerated.

"Jesus, are you planning for an apocalypse, Al?"

Alex playfully slapped her arm. "Hey, sometimes I had a LOT of work to get through so I'd just spend days up here. I needed something to keep me going so I had this custom made. I know it's a little extreme. Sometimes Nicky would come over and we would just stay up here, the bottom of the bed pulls out into another bed, so she always had somewhere to sleep. I don't share my actual bed, Pipes. I guess we'll be using the trundle bed tonight…"

Alex looked to the side quick enough to catch the show of emotions that flashed across Piper's face. She looked disappointed and confused before she tried to compose herself.

"Uh, Yeah.. That's fine."

Alex burst out laughing, her laugh so loud it rang through the walls of the house.

"Don't be silly, Dummy. Of course you will be sleeping with me, Pipes. I don't usually share a bed with anyone, but I guess I can make an exception."

Piper's face lit up and Alex chuckled as she walked over to a lamp that Piper hadn't noticed when she first walked in. Piper gasped as Alex turned it on. It was shaped like a tree, the black branches thin and willowy, hundreds of tiny warm lights glowing from them. Dimly lighting the room.

"Wow…"

Alex chuckled. "Well since you don't have any clothes to remove, I guess you can just go on and get comfy in the bed… I'll grab us some water out the cooler, brush my teeth and I'll be right there."

Piper watched as Alex exited the room before she hopped into the huge bed. The sheets felt like silk and she couldn't help but slide right into them, letting the softness envelop her. She lay for a while staring at the stars shining through the giant pane of glass above her before she felt herself becoming drowsy.

When Alex returned, Piper was laid on her side snoring softly. Alex turned off the lamp and picked up the remote control from the bedside table, she pressed the button and the huge blind made its way over the glass, blocking the night sky from view and rendering the room pitch black aside from the soft light of the lamp. She got herself cosy in the bed beside Piper and turned off the lamp. Lying awake for a moment, she took in all that had happened during the day. She knew the pain of losing Diane would never go away but she thought that maybe, just maybe, everything would be ok with Piper in her life.

A/N: I'm so sorry that this has taken so long to get up here. It's hectic here and I'll just say now that I'm hopeless. I'm trying my best, though. I'm not great at writing smut so please be patient *Scrunches eyes closed* I hope I haven't made any mistakes. It's a little shorter than usual but hopefully you enjoy ? Also, one small thing – I found another OITNB fanfic called shattered so I've made a slight alteration to the name of this story so they don't get confused As always, Please leave reviews, they keep me motivated ? Thanks guys, Lise xx


	7. Broken Glass, Broken heart

**A/N; Holy shit, guys. What a week! I finally finished semester one at uni and season 5 is out! No spoilers here but I will say, I cried my eyes out! Did anyone else? Absolutely amazing. I loved every bit of it and I'm now going to be very worried and emotionally scarred for the next year :'D I should be able to post more here now that the semester is over! Hurray! As always, leave a review or just say hi and talk to me about the new season! :) Lise x**

Piper's eyes fluttered open and for a split second she didn't know where she was. Her gaze was drawn to her side where she found Alex sleeping peacefully, her long dark hair splayed across the pillow. She was lying on her side facing Piper, her shoulders slowly rising and falling in sync with her soft breathing. Piper smiled at the sight, she didn't think she had ever seen anything more beautiful in her life. Her smile soon fell though as she began thinking about their future. Tomorrow she would have to go home and return to work and she was unsure whether Alex would want to remain in the comfort of her own home, return to her own life whilst Piper returned to hers. The thought frightened her.

Piper decided to get out of bed and make some breakfast for the both of them. She decided on a Bacon sandwich with freshly squeezed orange juice. She walked back up to the room and placed Alex's on the bedside table and then slowly got into bed behind her, wrapping her arms around her and stroking the side of her face. Alex stirred from her sleep, groaning and stretching

"Pipes? What time is it?"

"8.30, I brought you some breakfast."

"Mmm, it smells so good."

Alex rolled over onto her back and kissed Piper on her nose as she sat up.

"What dya wanna do today, Al?"

"I was gonna show you the town, pop into work to tell them I'll start back at the beginning of next week and then I was gonna grab Thai for dinner, it's this little place around the corner, it was Mom's favourite.."

Alex trailed off from her rambling as she thought of what it would be like to eat takeout with someone other than her Mom.

Piper was still stuck on the part of Alex's rambling when she said she would be going back to work. She knew that meant she would be staying here as there was no way she would be able to do the drive from Piper's to here every day.

"Pipes? Sound like a plan? Hey, what's wrong?"

Alex had seen the expression on Piper's face before she could hide it.

"Oh. Uh, nothing, I was just contemplating what you were saying."

"Oh, Ok Pipes. Well, let's go take a shower and get ready for the day." Alex wiggled her eyebrows at Piper but was immediately concerned when she received nothing in return. She decided to let Piper have some time alone.

Piper was still trying to figure out a way to make this all work. She was head over heels in love with Alex already and didn't want to lose her but she couldn't see a way out of this. By the time she had snapped out of her thought bubble she realised Alex was already in the shower. She decided not to join her and walked downstairs.

Alex was worried to say the least. She didn't know why Piper's mood had changed so drastically since they had woken up but she decided she would let Piper tell her what was wrong in her own time.

"Pipes, are you up to looking around the town or did you wanna stay in?"

"Uh, I think maybe I wanna stay in.."

Alex nodded and went to flick on the kettle, she decided she needed a coffee if this was how the day was going to pan out.

She sat down on the sofa beside Piper who was looking forlorn and wrapped her arms around her. "Pipes, please, tell me what is wrong?"

"Al, what is going to happen between us now?"

Of course this had crossed Alex's mind over the past few weeks but she hadn't voiced anything to Piper. The thing was she was in no position, if she wanted to keep the house, not to go back to work. The house held so many happy memories of Diane that she knew she couldn't just up and leave at the drop of a hat but she also understood that it wasn't easy for Piper to just leave either.

"To be honest, Piper, I'm not sure. I have thought a lot about it."

"And what do you think?"

"I think we should talk seriously about everything…I mean, Piper, I can't just leave my job if I want to keep this house. I can't let go of it because of my Mom. I don't know what to do. At the same time, I don't want to lose you."

"I don't want to lose you either Al."

Alex didn't know what to say, she wanted to reassure Piper but felt like whatever she would say would be wrong, so she just kept quiet and sipped her coffee.

XXXXXXXXX

Piper didn't know what she was going to do. Alex hadn't spoken since this morning when they had talked about the future and had drawn nothing but a blank. She wanted to speak to Alex but it was becoming harder and harder for her to find a solution. She felt like she couldn't breathe.

"Alex."

Alex looked up from the book she had been pretending to read. She had been worrying about what Piper would eventually say.

"Do you want to be with me?"

"Yes, Piper, you know I do. I just don't know how we are going to make it work, realistically."

Piper looked hurt. Alex moved to comfort her but she pulled away.

"No, Al, if you can't see a future with me then I guess I've served my purpose."

Piper rose from the sofa and strode across the room to her bag. Before Alex could react, she was walking out of the door with it.

"PIPER! WHAT THE HELL! DON'T LEAVE! WE WILL SORT SOMETHING OUT…"

Alex hadn't been expecting Piper to have such a quick reaction, she stood up and ran after her but she didn't look back, she closed the door and Alex heard her car start and pull away, quickly. By the time Alex was outside, Piper's car was turning the corner at the end of the road.

"FUCK!" Alex shouted, breathing heavily and running her hand through her hair and grabbing her keys.

XXXXXX

Piper was furious. Furious at herself for walking out like she had, furious that Alex couldn't leave her life, furious at the whole situation. Tears were fogging up her eyes and she could barely see the road, she didn't see the truck that was pulling out on her until it was too late to stop. The dash crumpled in on her and the noise was deafening as the car ungraciously smashed into the side of the truck. Glass rained down on her, leaving her hair glittering. She felt the world fade out and closed her eyes.

XXXXXX

Alex had jumped straight into her own car and headed in the direction Piper had gone, when she got to the second intersection she realised there had been some sort of accident. People were gathered around and many looked rushed and panicked. Alex slowly drove by and her heart stopped when she saw it was Piper's car. Piper's car embedded into the side of the truck. She didn't even bother to pull over or turn off the ignition she just got out of the car and ran. When she got to the scene she saw the shock of blonde hair still in the car.

"PIPER, jesus fuck. Oh my god, what am I going to do."

Alex was shaking, in a total complete and utter panic. She hadn't even realised Piper had opened her eyes.

"Al? What happened?" Pipers voice was soft. She tried to move but winced and started to cry.

"I can't move my legs. Fuck, Alex, it hurts."

Alex brushed Piper's hand softly with her hand and shushed her.

"It's ok Pipes, there's been a little accident but you are going to be fine, you just stay with me ok? Don't go back to sleep. Keep looking at me."

Alex was gently pushed out of the way by a team of paramedics as the emergency services landed on the scene. "I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere, Piper, keep looking at me."

The team assessed Piper and quickly found that they needed to cut her out of the car to free her legs. Once they were done they lifted her out and onto a stretcher where they began to wheel her to the ambulance.

"Can I come with her?" Alex asked a young female paramedic as she was helping to lift Piper into the ambulance.

"Yes, but you will have to come now, she's losing quite a bit of blood and we need to get her to the hospital as quickly as possible."

Alex hopped in the ambulance and pulled out her phone.

"Nick? Holy fuck, Piper's had an accident, I can't explain but I'm leaving my car on Greeners Avenue, I need you to pick it up for me and take it home, I'm going with her in the ambulance."

Alex hung up the phone and grabbed hold of one of Piper's hands. "It's going to be ok, Pipes."

When they got to the hospital, Piper was whisked away and Alex was told to wait in the corridor until there was news she was stable.

Alex had her head in her hands when Nicky came rushing through the doors with Lorna in tow. "Alex, what's happening? Where's Piper?"

"Fuck, Nicky, we had a bit of an argument and she walked out, the next thing I know she's had a fight with a truck and is bleeding out from somewhere. It's all my fault, I can't lose her. I can't lose her like I lost Mom."

Alex was sobbing by this point and Nicky had her arms around her rocking her back and forth. "Listen, Sister, this is not your fault. You know Piper has a fiery temper, well, she's told us about it, maybe you were about to experience it and that's why she left. This was an accident, Alex, she's going to be ok." Nicky glanced at Lorna who looked horrified at everything that was happening.

Two hours later, Alex was lying across the bench with her head in Nicky's lap and Lorna stroking her hair when a young male doctor approached the trio. "Alex? Are you the lady who came in with Piper Chapman?"

Alex sat upright immediately. "Yes, I am, is she ok?"

"Alex, Piper has suffered some serious injuries in the car accident. She has broken her left leg in several places and will need surgery to repair it, she also has a broken collarbone from the seatbelt and a large laceration to her left side that we have cleaned, repaired and sutured. She was in a lot of pain when we brought her in so we sedated her while we got her all checked over and repaired the various cuts. She's just waking up now."

Alex lifted her glasses to the top of her head and ran her hand down her face. "Can I see her, please?"

"yes, you can, but be aware she might not be up to much talking, also, we are going to have to contact her parents as her mother is listed as her emergency contact."

Alex nodded and was led into a room where Piper was laying, her leg was bare and in a huge splint, her other leg was covered by a white hospital blanket. She leant over Piper and her eyes fluttered open. She groaned in pain when she tried to move, temporarily forgetting where she was.

"Piper? Hey, It's ok. Listen to me, you have broken your leg and given yourself a pretty nasty cut on your side, and your collarbone is broken but you are going to get better, I'm going to take care of you, babe."

Piper smiled lazily, the sedation drugs hadn't fully worn off yet. While she was still in quite a bit of pain, she was glad Alex was here with her.

Alex was glad she could be there for Piper, who was about to be wheeled into surgery, that is until Carol Chapman came bursting into the ER.

Carol rushed straight past Alex, to Piper who was drifting back off to sleep.

"Piper? Piper sweety, It's Mom, I'm here now, I'm going to take care of you, your father is parking the car, he will be in here any moment now."

She looked up and seemed to catch Alex's eye. Realising someone was with Piper for the first time since she had arrived. "And you are, dear?"

"I'm Alex, I came with Piper in the ambulance."

"Oh, Right, Well you can go now, thank you for bringing her in."

Alex didn't know what to do. Piper was about to go for the surgery to repair her leg and she didn't want to leave and not be here when she woke up.

"Oh, no, It's ok, I'll stay, thanks."

"No, dear, you have done your bit, I appreciate you coming in here, but Piper needs her family to look after her now. Her grandmother is coming in shortly so she will be fine from here. Go home, Alex."

It hit Alex like a tonne of bricks. Piper didn't need her, she had family. It was Alex who needed her. Piper was just fine without her.

She turned, tears welling up in her eyes and strode out of the building, past Lorna and Nicky who had stood from her seat when Alex had come out of the room and was yelling after her, concerned and worried about what was going on.

Piper would be better off without her.


	8. Heartache revised

**Hey guys, How crazy was season 5? I cried more than once and now I'm in total denial that we have to wait another year to find out what happens! Agh!**

 **Happy viewing, to those of you who haven't already binge watched the entire season! As always, Please review xx**

Nicky and Lorna decided Alex needed some time alone before they went after her.

Alex had walked all the way home, she had stopped by the bottle shop on the way home and bought two large bottles of red wine. One of which she was drinking as she was walking.

By the time she got home she put the music on really loud and sat on the floor in front of the sofa. She was drinking herself into oblivion when Nicky came through the door and swiped the bottle out of her hands.

"Hey, what the fuck are you doing?" Alex shouted at Nicky who was now handing her a glass of water.

"Drink it up, Vause. We've got some talking to do."

Alex drank the glass of water and looked at Nicky defiantly.

"What is it. Nicky. Can you say what you have to say and then leave me alone? It's how I'm meant to be, after all. Alone."

Nicky shook her head. "No, Vause, It's not. Ya'v got one of the best looking blonde girls I've seen, lying in a hospital bed waiting for you to look after her and step up, and ya come running out of the hospital like someone's holding a hot poker to your ass. What's the problem?"

"She doesn't need me. No one does. You have Lorna, Mom's gone, Piper has her mom."

"Holy fuck, is this about Mrs Prissy in the hospital over there? Did she say something?"

"She confirmed that Piper does in fact, not need me."

"Alex. Piper is unconscious right now. Do you think she wants her mother to come over and shower her in expectations and soup? Or do you think she wants a hot dark haired dentist lady catering to her every need and sleeping beside her in some smokin hot underwear, or better yet, naked? Coz I know which I'd choose….. Soup."

Alex laughed slightly and shook her head.

"Look, I know you guys have been through some stuff right now. Everyone goes through stuff, it's not easy, but if you want to be with Piper you have to sort it out. She does need you. You obviously haven't seen the way she looks at you. She paused her own business just to come here and support you. She left her home, which, by the way, she let you share when she didn't even know who you were."

"I know but we live so far apart and she has her business there, I have my house and job here. How would we make it work? "

"Ya just would, Alex. Look, if you want to be with her, work it out. You could put an extension on the back of the house and move her business up here. You have to talk to her, Al. You can't just shut off every time there's an obstacle in your path. Get back to that hospital and get your woman… after you have showered and sobered up."

Alex hugged Nicky and then walked to the bathroom, her appearance shocked her when she saw herself in the mirror. Her hair was ruffled up at one side, her eyes were swollen and bloodshot and her face was paler than normal.

She got into the shower and got washed, enjoying the feeling of the soap sliding down her body, washing all the bad parts of the day away. When she got out she applied some light makeup, put on a black v neck shirt, some jeans and her converse and walked into the lounge. Nicky was still there, her hand outstretched handing her another bottle of water.

"I gotta say, you look better than when you went in there."

Alex just shook her head.

"C'mon stretch, let's go get your woman."

XXXXXX

When they got back to the hospital, Alex could see that Piper was still asleep. Carol was sitting beside the bed doing a crossword.

Alex pushed open the door, startling Carol as she looked around to see who it was, taking off her glasses in the process.

"I've freshened up and now I'm back to look after Piper, Mrs Chapman. You can go home if you need a break."

"No dear, there's no need for you to be here, I told you before, Piper needs family around her."

"Yes, and that's why I'm here. I love your daughter, Mrs Chapman, and I'm not going anywhere."

Carol just looked at her like she wasn't quite grasping what she was saying.

"Yes, Alex, was it? All of Piper's friends love her but she has me to look after her and you don't need to be here. She will be waking up soon and she will be devastated if anyone sees her in this mess."

"Mrs Chapman, You aren't listening to what I'm saying. Piper is my girlfriend, not my friend. She is my family, I'm here to look after her whether you are here or not, I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying here."

Nicky was standing silently beside Alex, looking to and from each woman as the scene played out in front of her, that was when she noticed Piper's eyes were open, she was watching the scene unfold in front of her own eyes.

Nicky coughed and looked towards Piper. Both women jumped and rushed over to Piper who was now looking horrified. Suddenly she yelled out making all three women jump.

"OUCH FUCK! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH MY AHHH.. LEG!"

Piper had obviously tried to sit up and disturbed her recently operated on leg.

Alex pushed the Call button on the remote to send for the nurse. "Pipes, You had an accident, do you remember?"

Carol cut in. "Piper! Language! I'm sorry honey, your friends here wanted to stay. I know how you don't like your friends to see you when you aren't clothed and made up but they wouldn't leave."

Nicky raised her eyebrow and smirked at Alex when Carol was saying about her being unclothed.

"It's ok, Mom. I want them here. What the hell happened? Al? You stayed…"

Piper started to cry, everything becoming too much for her.

"It's ok sweety, I'll ask your friends to leave, again." Carol shot Alex a look before continuing. "It must be very hard to relax when there's so many people here."

"Mrs Chapman, can I speak to you outside, please?"

Carol looked back at Piper. "Piper, I'll just see your friends out and then I'll be right back in, honey."

"NO! Mom I don't want Alex to leave. Al, tell her, please!"

"I'll just go talk to her and I'll come back in, Pipes."

Nicky excused herself. "Al, I'm gonna go. You stay here, stay strong and remember what I told you. Underwear, Soup…" She winked as she walked down the hallway.

Carol looked confused and shook her head slightly before putting on a fake smile. "Alex, thanks again for stopping by, Piper appreciates it, she's just not up for visitors at the moment. Perhaps you could come back in the morning at visiting hours, when she's feeling a little less tired and confused."

"Look Carol, I don't know what you don't understand. I'm trying to be nice here but you are making it hard for me. I've already told you once, but you weren't listening to me, so I'm gonna have to ask you if you can listen for a sec."

Carol blinked a couple of times and went to open her mouth before she shut it again giving Alex time to carry on.

"The thing is, I'm not your daughter's friend. You must have mistaken what I said before. I didn't mean I'm her girlfriend as in a friend who is a girl. I'm her actual girlfriend. I love her more than anything else in this world, Carol, more than any man could. So if you think I'm going anywhere but this hospital until I know she is completely fine with me not being here, you are wrong."

Carol was now standing with her mouth open. "My daughter is not a lesbian, Alex."

"Oh yeah? I think I'd know considering she.."

Carol cut her off.. "I don't want to know anything, Alex. I need to go."

Carol turned on her heel and walked out of the hospital, her face contorted like she felt the world was closing in on her.

"Carol, wait!" Alex shouted after her.

She didn't stop and Alex ran her hand through her hair before she went back into Piper's room. Piper was watching everything but she hadn't heard what was going on.

"What's happening, Al?"

"Shh babe, you're gonna be ok. You had a car accident, you broke your leg pretty bad and you have some other injuries. Just stay calm, relax."

"What did my mom say?"

"I'm sorry, Pipes. I had no choice, she wanted me to go and wouldn't take no for an answer so I told her we're together. I couldn't just leave you here."

"Oh my god! My mother knows? She just left?"

"Yeah I think she needs time to process."

"Well at least now she knows.."

"Look, Pipes, I don't want to push you away, I've been doing a lot of thinking but we can wait until you're better if you want to talk then?"

"No, tell me what you have been thinking…"

"I want us to be together, more than anything. You came into my life when I was at rock bottom. I didn't think… I didn't want to get back up. Everything was black and white and I felt like nothing in my life had a purpose anymore and then you picked me up in that storm and changed everything. I can't lose you, Piper. Why don't you do your house up, we can keep it, or sell it but at least you still have it. Move your business up here, to my house and move in with me. We can build an extension… Please, Piper, we can make this work. I just want to be with you."

"Really? You'd do all that just for me?"

"Piper, I'd do anything for you."

Piper motioned for Alex to kiss her and she leaned in, they kissed passionately before Piper pulled back.

"I love you, Al."

Alex looked shocked before she smiled. "I love you too, Piper Chapman."


	9. Epilogue

**Hey guys, I didn't think this fic seemed complete so I have written a short epilogue to it :) Lise xx**

5 Years Later

Alex and Piper had decided to keep both houses but live in Alex's mainly. Piper moved her business over to Alex's and worked from home there. Things had been going really well for both of them and Alex, despite her struggles, had come to accept Diane's death.

"Pipes, are you going to finish work and come to the Den with me?"

"Of course, babe. Give me ten minutes and I'll be free."

Alex had constructed a log cabin in the woods beside her home, it was to honour Diane and all she would have loved. The shack was basically just a double story luxurious cabin and Alex had decked it out in fairy lights, there was a record player in there with all of Diane's favourite records, a wine bar stocked with all her favourite alcohol, there was a wall adorned with wallpaper Alex had specially made with all of the photos she had of Diane, some were from when she was young and some were from just before she died. The cabin had been a huge roll in helping Alex cope and she had ploughed a lot of time and money into making it exactly what she wanted. Piper had chipped in with some stuff and had supported Alex in everything she wanted to do. They visited every weekend.

Things had gone well in Alex's career as well, she had enough savings to open her own dental surgery, she was making more money than at the hospital and could work less hours which meant more time spent on the cabin or doing what she liked.

This weekend was particularly special as it marked five years Piper and Alex had been together. Alex had planned something at the cabin but wanted to keep it a surprise from Piper.

XXXXX

By the time Piper had finished the sun was going down and Alex was losing her patience.

"Come on! I've been waiting ages for you. I want to take you to the cabin."

"Sorry Al, I've been ploughed under. It's that time of the year."

Both girls headed out the door with a weekend bag Alex had packed while she waited, they were going to stay in the upstairs room of the cabin this weekend.

Alex had a campfire built and had just completed the outside area, she had done mosaic style paving out the back and had stone benches built around a stone campfire. Piper hadn't seen it up until this point and Alex was curious to know what she would think. When she was little, Diane had no money to do much with her but they would go camping often because it didn't cost anything, Diane would always make a campfire and they would always toast marshmallows over it. Alex wanted to incorporate it into the cabin and she was overjoyed with how it had turned out.

"Wow. Alex, this is phenomenal. I didn't think you were going all out with this but it looks great!"

Piper was wandering around the campfire taking it all in. When she had done a 360 and gotten back to Alex she pulled her closer and kissed her. "Diane would have been proud, Al."

Alex smiled. She liked it when Piper got all sentimental. After the car crash, Piper still hadn't returned to running and her leg still ached periodically. She chose to do yoga as a form of exercise these days. Alex wanted Piper to use their large spare living area and turn it into a studio for yoga classes on the weekend but Piper wasn't completely convinced. What Piper didn't know was that while they were away this weekend she was having it converted to a studio so Piper could either use it for herself or do the classes Alex had suggested.

Alex busied herself getting the fire started and Piper went inside to start dinner, she had brought some stuff to make chicken salad wraps and home made potato wedges. Alex had gotten her into eating relatively healthy and now she made almost everything from scratch. By the time she had finished making the dinner, Alex had a roaring fire going, she stepped outside and couldn't quite believe her eyes. Alex had decked the trees surrounding the cabin with off white fairy lights, the whole place was glittering like the night sky.

Alex laughed at Piper's open mouth. "Come sit down before you get a bunch of flies in your mouth!"

Piper smiled and sat down beside Alex, handing her the plate of food as she did so. "This place looks amazing! Honestly, I can't quite believe it."

"Yeah well, It's cost me a fortune and It's taken up the better part of 4 years but I think I'm finally getting close to finishing it." Alex said in between mouthfuls of food.

"What are you going to do with your free time when you finish it?" Piper queried, curious and slightly worried how not having the distraction would affect her.

"I'm not sure to be honest. I was thinking maybe we could take a vacation somewhere?"

Pipers eyes widened. "Well, that's something we haven't done yet. I'm down for that."

Alex smiled. She placed her plate beside her and took Piper's hands in hers.

"Ok, this isn't exactly how I had planned on doing this but It feels right. So, that holiday, how would you like it to be our honeymoon?"

Piper smiled, then her eyes widened with the recognition of what Alex had just said.

"Wh-What?"

"Piper, I'm asking if you will marry me? I know we have had our ups and downs but you came into my life at the hardest point and you have managed to make me happier than I thought I'd ever be... I don't ever want to be without you. We have already combined everything anyway, so how about we make it official. I love you more than anything in this world, Pipes. Be my wife?"

Piper was dumbfounded. She wasn't expecting this at all. She sat with a wide eyed expression on her face for about 5 seconds before Alex spoke up.

"Pipes? Are you ok? Are you even breathing?"

Piper looked at her. "Did you just ask me to marry you?"

"Yes, you idiot!"

Piper jumped up from the bench, squealing. "Oh my god, Al! of course I will!" Piper's eyes were filled with tears as she jumped on Alex, straddling her lap and kissing her for all she was worth, Alex had to catch the plate of food Piper had almost knocked over.

"Is that a yes?"

Piper placed kisses all over Alex's face. "Yes -Kiss- Yes! - kiss- Yes! - Kiss-"

Alex stood up taking Piper with her, her legs wrapped around her middle and twirling them both around. "Yes! I knew you would say yes! Who can resist me!"

Piper playfully slapped Alex's arm and they both laughed. Alex sat back down, they were both still giddy.

"Was that planned or completely spontaneous?" Piper asked.

"Does this answer your question?" Alex asked, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a sparkling diamond ring. Piper had always made a fuss over being simplistic with her style, so Alex had kept it simple with the ring, a thin band adorned all the way around with tiny diamonds.

Piper's face was shocked again as she took in the sight before her. "Oh my god, it's perfect." She breathed, tears falling down her face. She tenderly kissed Alex who leaned her forehead against her's before gently slipping the ring on her finger.

XXXXX

The warmth of the fire was soothing against the icy breeze blowing all around them as they toasted marshmallows, a blanket wrapped around them both. Both were in a state of bliss after the proposal.

"Shall we go inside now?" Alex asked, nudging Piper's shoulder with her own."

They both entered the toasty cabin, the log fire already crackling away in there from earlier. Piper set aside both plates from dinner and then walked up to the bedroom. the bedroom was spacious and open plan, a balcony on one side meaning they could see straight down into the lounge area with the fire still going. Alex was busy brushing her teeth.

Piper sat on the edge of the bed watching her, one leg dangling off the bed and the other bent up and tucked underneath.

"I can't believe we're engaged."

"Me neither... Do you think we'll like, get lesbian bed death now?"

"I don't think so, Al. My leg was broken in half and I still managed didn't I?" Piper smiled at the memory of them trying to have sex with her massive cast in the way.

Alex laughed too, thinking about it. She finished up brushing her teeth and walked over to Piper, straddling her on the edge of the bed. "How's about we test and see if that leg can still withstand a full night?"

XXXXXX

The next day Alex and Piper had been shopping in town at the fresh food market all morning, Piper proudly showing her ring off to anyone who would listen.

They bumped into Nicky who was being dragged around the market by Lorna who was wearing an oversized straw hat and large sunglasses.

"Vause, Chapman! What brings you two to this hell hole?" Nicky laughed.

Piper looked ready to burst. "We were just vegetable shopping but we have some news!" She said, waving her left hand at them both.

Nicky's eyes widened in shock. "Holy shit, you finally domesticated Vause. I was waiting for the day!"

Alex laughed and rolled her eyes. Lorna squealed in delight. "My cousin, Vinnie, he has a wedding store down town, he could totally set you guys up with some deals."

Alex side eyed Piper who was half nodding at Lorna, just to be polite. Nicky laughed, also analysing the situation.

"Alright, alright, let's get you home before you spend all our money on organic carrots and shit." Nicky chuckled.

Alex was blown away by this entire thing. Her life had changed so much in the past few years, she still couldn't quite believe Nicky was in a long term relationship. Of all the people she thought would settle down, Nicky was not one of them.

XXXXXXX

The coming weeks were spent looking at wedding venues, old and new, picking out flowers and dresses and everything Alex thought she would hate but actually really loved.

After everything that had happened, she considered herself very lucky to have met Piper, to be loved by Piper and to have had her shattered heart put back together by her.

Happiness soared through Alex's veins.

The future was going to be amazing.


End file.
